Chapter 385 - 380: The Moonlight Is Beautiful Tonight (Part 2)

Chapter 385: Chapter 380: The Moonlight Is Beautiful Tonight (Part 2)

"Mm-hmm."

"Bye, everyone~"

Lin Yanwan waved at them, and the car sped away.

◇

Under the moonlight and the chirping of cicadas, the four of them strolled along Bauhinia Road.

Si Si suddenly gave the tipsy Qiuting a gentle push. She stumbled and fell into Su Qing’s arms.

Her breath smelling of alcohol, Si Si glanced between the two and teased, "Nanny Su, you take good care of our Qiuting. Yingying and I don’t need you to look after us."

After saying this, she pulled Cui Jiaying away, striding forward. Although she tried her best to walk in a straight line, from behind, she still looked wobbly.

However, the two pairs only separated by about twenty or thirty meters, not too far, so they could still help each other in case someone fell.

Su Qing stared blankly down at Qiuting in his arms. She was drunk, her little face flushed red, looking very cute.

Their hazy gazes met in the air. Qiuting shied away, embarrassed, and struggled out of Su Qing’s embrace.

"Brother Su, just now... thank you for catching me," Qiuting said in a small voice.

"It’s nothing, don’t mention it. You’re drunk, it’s what I should do." After a pause, he added, as if to himself, "Actually, I’m a little drunk too."

The two walked side by side. In the quiet, deserted surroundings, smelling the scent of alcohol drifting from Qiuting, Su Qing felt his mouth go inexplicably dry. He could even hear his own heartbeat.

’Looks like I really am drunk. Why else would I keep staring at Qiuting for no reason?’ he mocked himself silently.

As they walked, Qiuting suddenly wasn’t paying attention and twisted her ankle. She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain but managed to hold back a cry.

"See? You weren’t watching your step and twisted your ankle, didn’t you? Does it hurt?"

Su Qing stopped and instinctively held her by the arm.

"It doesn’t hurt much." Qiuting shook her head slightly, but beads of sweat had already formed on the tip of her nose. It was hard to tell if it was from the alcohol or the sharp pain from twisting her ankle.

"Don’t just stand there. Sit on the curb, let me see how bad it is."

Su Qing helped Qiuting sit down on the curb. He exercised regularly, so he knew a thing or two about sprained ankles.

The pair up ahead had also stopped. Cui Jiaying looked back at them, wondering if she should go over and help.

"It looks like Qiuting sprained her ankle. Should we go check?" she asked.

"Why would we go over? To be a third wheel? Su Qing is there. This is a great chance for them to bond, and you’re actually thinking about interrupting them."

"Oh, right."

Si Si pulled Cui Jiaying’s hand. "Let’s go, my silly girl. Stop looking..."

The long skirt draped down Qiuting’s slender calf. Su Qing knelt, averted his gaze from her smooth skin, and gently took off her little white sneaker, revealing a short, white, lace-trimmed sock.

Qiuting’s face instantly grew hot. She leaned back slightly, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, and watched as Brother Su held her small foot to examine it closely.

Having grown up in the mountains, her mindset was quite conservative. This was the first time in her life she had ever been so close to a member of the opposite sex.

But in her year at Tsinghua, besides Brother Jiang Xia, Brother Su had been the kindest person to her. He had a very pleasant scent that made one want to get closer without even realizing it.

"Brother Su... my foot is dirty... and st-stinky," Qiuting said in a tiny, bashful voice.

"Don’t be silly. It’s very clean, and it doesn’t smell at all. My feet are much stinkier than yours."

Qiuting stared blankly as Su Qing joked with her. The thought of Brother Su’s stinky feet suddenly made her feel less embarrassed.

Su Qing looked up at her and said seriously, "Qiuting, I need to take off your sock. Otherwise, I can’t tell how bad the sprain is."

"Okay..." Qiuting nodded almost imperceptibly.

Then she watched as Brother Su grabbed the cuff of her sock and slowly pulled it off, gradually revealing her fair little foot. The skin looked a bit flushed, probably from the recent twist, but thankfully there was no obvious swelling.

"Does it hurt here?"

Su Qing squeezed gently, only to see her arch her foot, her delicate toes curling sensitively. Her entire face flushed crimson.

"Qiuting, relax a little."

"It doesn’t really hurt, but Brother Su... you’re pressing on the sole of my foot. It’s so ticklish," Qiuting said, her face full of shyness.

If she could remain calm while Su Qing was touching her through the sock, it was a different story now. Her entire foot was completely bare before him, being freely handled. From her perspective, it looked as if she had offered her foot for him to play with. Her heart immediately started pounding like a frantic deer, and the tips of her ears burned red.

"S-Sorry."

Su Qing was a little embarrassed himself. He tried to focus and not let his mind wander. "What about here?"

"Eek—"

His thumb pressed gently on the joint between her talus and tibia. Qiuting instinctively tried to pull her foot back.

"...It hurts a little."

"Looks like this is where you sprained it. Fortunately, you didn’t injure the soft tissue or the bone. When you get back, buy a bottle of cold water from the dorm’s convenience store and ice it for a while. It should be mostly better after tonight, but try not to run or jump for a while to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the injury."

Su Qing rubbed it with a bit of force, which could help relieve the pain and reduce swelling and bruising.

"Okay, okay, I understand. Thank you, Brother Su."

Afterward, Su Qing helped her put her sock back on, and thoughtfully put her shoe on as well.

"By the way, the socks are really cute," he said with a smile.

Qiuting was immediately overcome with shyness.

She pushed herself up from the ground and tried to take a couple of steps, but found she still couldn’t put weight on her sprained ankle. If she were sober, she could have limped back slowly, but right now, she’d probably fall again after just a few steps.

Su Qing chuckled softly, turned around, and knelt in front of her.

"Qiuting, get on. I’ll carry you back."

"No, no, no, Brother Su, I couldn’t possibly. I can walk back slowly," Qiuting said instinctively.

"Alright, now’s not the time to refuse. We’re not strangers. There’s no need to be so formal about old-fashioned things like ’men and women shouldn’t touch.’ The point is, you’ve sprained your ankle, you’re drunk, and you can’t walk, understand?" Su Qing looked into her eyes and spoke earnestly.

"Mm..."

"If you keep being stubborn, Si Si and the others will be long gone. Hurry up and get on." Su Qing looked back over his shoulder, reached his arms behind him, and beckoned to her.

"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Su."

Qiuting’s voice was as faint as a whisper. With a blush, she averted her eyes, then slowly leaned forward and gently pressed against his back, clearly embarrassed.

Su Qing keenly felt something soft like a marshmallow pressing against him. His body stiffened for a moment before he tactfully supported her thighs near her bottom, engaged his lower back, and slowly stood up.

On his back, Qiuting’s hands felt awkward, unsure of where to put them. But feeling his broad back and smelling his scent, she gradually calmed down, an inexplicable sense of security washing over her.

"Brother Su, am I very heavy?" Qiuting noticed his breathing seemed to have become a little heavier, so she blushed and asked, "Why don’t you put me down? I can walk back slowly."

The gentle moonlight shone on him. Carrying her on his back, Su Qing strode forward and couldn’t help but chuckle. "With a small frame like yours? I could easily carry two of you. Don’t forget, I’m always at the gym lifting weights."

"Oh..." Qiuting decisively shut her mouth.

’I’m afraid Brother Su might actually switch to carrying me in his arms,’ she thought. ’If that’s the case, I’d rather he just keep carrying me on his back. At least this isn’t as embarrassing.’

Qiuting gently rested her head on Su Qing’s shoulder. She had a strange feeling that after this incident, their relationship had grown much closer.

"Brother Su..."

"Hmm?"

"N-Nothing..."

Gazing at Su Qing’s determined profile, Qiuting blushed and murmured softly, "Brother Su, thank you..."